Lady Gaga has opened up about suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder during an emotional interview with the Today show.
On Monday, the ‘Million Reasons’ singer stopped by New York’s Ali Forney Center, a shelter for homeless LGBT youth, as part of the show’s #ShareKindness campaign.
As she hugged and chatted with the young people at the centre, the singer revealed for the first time that she suffered from PTSD.
Lady Gaga revealed for the first time that she suffers from PTSD in an interview with the Today show. Photo: Getty
“I told the kids today that I suffer from a mental illness,” she later told the Today show hosts.
“I suffer from PTSD. I’ve never told anyone that before, so here we are. But the kindness that’s been shown to me by doctors – as well as my family and friends – it’s really saved my life.”
The interview comes almost exactly two years after Gaga opened up about being raped at the age of 19, during an appearance on The Howard Stern Show.
The singer didn’t tell anyone about what had happened for seven years. Looking back on that period, she says, “I’d been searching for ways to heal myself, and I’ve found that kindness is the best way. The one way to help people that have trauma is to inject them with as many positive thoughts as possible.”
The singer later shared a link to her appearance on Twitter, writing that she had shared one of her “deepest secrets”. Photo: Getty
Gaga later shared a link to the Today video on her Twitter account, writing, “Today I shared one of my deepest secrets w/ the world. Secrets keep you sick w/ shame.”
Last year, the star was also involved with the documentary The Hunting Ground, which looked deeper into the issue of sexual assault on college campuses. Gaga co-wrote the song ‘Til It Happens To You’ for the film and was nominated for Best Original Song at the 2016 Academy Awards for the track.
